Sara Humphreys - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Sara Humphreys

It is designed to generate new evidence and understanding of how best to support equitable access... more It is designed to generate new evidence and understanding of how best to support equitable access and improved learning outcomes for all Nigerian children through innovation and the sustainable development of basic education systems. It is a consortium of leading organisations in international development and education managed by Oxford Policy Management (OPM) and including the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).

World Development Perspectives

The Consortium for Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE) is a Research Programme Co... more The Consortium for Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE) is a Research Programme Consortium supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). Its purpose is to undertake research designed to improve access to basic education in developing countries. It seeks to achieve this through generating new knowledge and encouraging its application through effective communication and dissemination to national and international development agencies, national governments, education and development professionals, non-government organisations and other interested stakeholders. Access to basic education lies at the heart of development. Lack of educational access, and securely acquired knowledge and skill, is both a part of the definition of poverty, and a means for its diminution. Sustained access to meaningful learning that has value is critical to long term improvements in productivity, the reduction of inter-generational cycles of poverty, demographic transition...

Disclaimer EDOREN is a consortium of leading organisations in international development and educa... more Disclaimer EDOREN is a consortium of leading organisations in international development and education: Oxford Policy Management (OPM), the Centre for International Education (CIE) and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), both at the University of Sussex, and is supported by UK Aid. EDOREN cannot be held responsible for errors or any consequences arising from the use of information contained in this report. Any views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of OPM, CIE, IDS and EDOREN or any other contributing organisation.

The research informing this Working Paper as well as its publication was made possible thanks to ... more The research informing this Working Paper as well as its publication was made possible thanks to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)-funded research on Action on Children's Harmful Work in African Agriculture (ACHA). The aim of the programme is to build evidence on: • the forms, drivers, and experiences of children's harmful work in African agriculture; and • interventions that are effective in preventing harm that arises in the course of children's work. It is currently assumed that the majority of children's work in Africa is within the agricultural sector. However, the evidence base is very poor in regard to: the prevalence of children's harmful work in African agriculture; the distribution of children's harmful work across different agricultural value chains, farming systems and agro-ecologies; the effects of different types of value chains and models of value chain coordination on the prevalence of harmful children's work; and the efficacy of different interventions to address harmful children's work.

Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evalua... more Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria i Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria iii and outcomes to be measured against programme targets and to facilitate impact assessments. Even where qualitative data were gathered they were often then quantified. Furthermore, articles in national journals generally lack an empirical basis or report small-scale surveys on very specific issues. There are very few in-depth qualitative studies. More in-depth qualitative data (including ethnographic, longitudinal and comparative case-study research) are needed to unravel some of the more complex processes affecting children in particular social contexts hinted at in some of the survey data. Research on education in Nigeria would benefit from greater collaboration and synergy between Nigerian university academics working in education and education and development specialists (both Nigerian and international). Greater public availability of government policy documentation on education (e.g. statistics, policy documents, research reports and the Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA) exercise data) would also help improve research. Geographical coverage in the available research (outside national surveys) has been uneven, with some states hardly featuring. With one of two notable exceptions, the voices of women and children and marginalised groups such as nomadic pastoralists, almajirai, 1 street children, and children with disabilities are not often very well heard in the evaluation studies, often because there was a tendency to focus on 'key informants' such as state and Local LGEA officials, traditional leaders and head teachers, who are predominantly men from dominant social groups. Since the drive at the school level has been to get more children-particularly girls-into schools, less research attention has been given to the quality of teaching and learning, in both schools and teacher education colleges. However, increased school enrolments mean very little if no meaningful learning is taking place. There are also concerns about the financial sustainability and political will to sustain many of the education development programmes. 2. ACCESS TO BASIC EDUCATION EMIS data suggest an overall decline in primary enrolments from 2006 to 2010 (the latest available data nationally), except in the North West. In contrast, the data suggest an increase in public Junior Secondary School (JSS) enrolments. That said, the figures are unreliable and much of the private school data in particular are absent. Household survey data from between 2004 and 2010 suggest little change in primary attendance, at around 60% of school-age children nationally, although there is considerable variation across the country. Broadly speaking, attendance is lower in the north than in the south, in rural areas rather than urban, for poorer households than richer, for girls more than boys in northern states, for Muslims more than non-Muslims, and for nomadic and migrant children and children with disabilities. Enrolment data from Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN)-supported states show huge variation between states and within states between LGEAs. In-school factors contributing to non-enrolment, absenteeism and/or dropout from schools are related to quality and generally revolve around: poor infrastructure and facilities; lack of space or overcrowding; teacher absenteeism; pupil avoidance of harassment, bullying or corporal punishment; an inability to understand the medium of instruction (MOI); and the poor quality of teaching and learning taking place. The quantitative data are generally of poor quality, but are particularly sparse in the case of unregistered private schools, Islamic schools and nomadic education. There is not a good understanding of what the most important barriers to access are ('out-of-school' and 'in-school' factors) in specific contexts and the way they interrelate. 3. EDUCATIONAL QUALITY: THE SCHOOL CONTEXT School supply Many states have recently been investing in building new schools. However, according to EMIS data, there are no clear patterns on school supply nationally from 2006 to 2010, although in part this is because of the lack and/or unreliability of data on the number of schools. Data for the private sector, in particular, are missing for many states. However, the 2010 NEDS reported long distances for many children in more rural and northern areas, especially at secondary level, thus suggesting school supply issues. School infrastructure and facilities Many states have invested heavily in the development of educational infrastructure over the last few years, although progress has been uneven. Many schools are still dilapidated, in part because government funding is unevenly distributed among states, LGEAs and schools-some schools receive no government support-and it is widely claimed that a lack of transparency in the awarding of construction contracts can lead to substandard buildings. The provision of water and gender-segregated sanitation is clearly vital to keeping pupils (and staff) in schools, and reports suggest recent improvements in provision in project-supported states, but there are clearly issues around the maintenance and cleanliness of both. These need to be investigated more thoroughly, including the impact of shared community use, fee charges for water, safety for girls around toilet areas, and hygiene and equity issues surrounding the cleaning of toilets. The reasons why children are not using toilets in some cases also need to be explored. Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria v School security is a matter of major concern to parents, pupils and education personnel, particularly the need for a perimeter fence to better regulate teacher and pupil attendance, intrusion from outsiders (including attacks on pupils, vandalism and theft of school property), the presence of motor vehicles, community dumping and encroachment. Classroom conditions and resources Classroom conditions vary across states, LGEAs and schools but many schools lack classrooms or the classrooms they do have are dilapidated and overcrowded with inadequate furniture and no usable chalkboard, making it virtually impossible for meaningful teaching and learning to occur. A major concern is the evidence suggesting that improvements in infrastructure and resource supply are failing to keep pace with increased demand, having a negative impact on educational quality and thereby threatening retention and undermining any gains in increased enrolment. There are severe shortages of textbooks, although there have been recent improvements in supply associated with development projects funded by a combination of government, donor agencies and community-generated funds, e.g. through school-based management committees (SBMCs). However, books are often locked up and unused because they are considered too precious for pupils to use, teachers are not sure how to use them, or LGEAs lack funds for distribution. 4. EDUCATIONAL QUALITY: TEACHING AND LEARNING Curriculum Following widespread criticism of the curriculum for being overloaded and outdated, with an overemphasis on transmission of knowledge rather than acquisition of transferable skills, new curricula are currently being rolled out at primary and JSS level. Many schools lack the relevant curriculum documents (including syllabuses and teaching guides) and there is generally a shortage of Science and Technology teachers and adequate Science facilities in school, combined with low ICT penetration. The medium of instruction National policy is that the 'mother tongue' will be used for Primary 1-3, before a 'progressive' transition to English-medium teaching. In practice, teaching at primary and JSS level generally involves a lot of code-switching between Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba and other community languages. Looking at gendered processes There is a need to move beyond the gender parity approach (i.e. primarily considering numbers of girls versus numbers of boys) and a focus on enrolment and attendance toward a focus on inequalities in processes and the way they relate to outcomes. There is also a need for a more holistic gender analysis of schools, with gender conceptualised as relational-i.e. boys and girls, considering similarities and differences between and within gender categories-and looking at the gendered structures and processes of educational institutions, as well as at numbers of female and male pupils and teachers. The FTTSS has supported over 2,300 trainees but research is needed on their levels of commitment/attrition over two years, their impact in schools/communities and on the kind of support they need to be successful. While the literature considers the constraints of cultural practices of Islam on girls' schooling, there is nothing on the impact of Christianity or African traditional religion (ATR) on girls' participation, or on the way in which ethnicity interacts with gender and religion (with the exception of two studies on female Fulbe nomadic pastoralists). 9. OUT-OF-SCHOOL ISSUES AFFECTING ACCESS ('pull factors') Provision of schools Despite an impressive drive to increase the number of primary schools and JSSs across the country in recent years, government welcomes the participation of private education to help it achieve UBE, including for-profit private and faith schools such as IQTE schools where there are some secular subjects on the curriculum, provided that they meet government standards Poverty, the cost of schooling and the need for children to work Direct costs such as Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) levies and the cost of uniforms, writing materials and textbooks constitute a major barrier to equitable access: inability to pay costs is a...

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned the University of Brighton (with part... more The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned the University of Brighton (with partner universities Sussex, Cambridge and the Institute of Education, London) to undertake a two-part investigation into the effects of pupil grouping in schools at Key Stages (KS) 2 and 3. The two-part investigation provided: (1) an extended review of the literature that included an analysis and synthesis of current literature that would identify types of pupil grouping suited to particular pupils, the range of organisational policies regarding pupil grouping within schools that are related to different levels of performance, and subjects suited to particular types of grouping; and (2) comparative case studies that explored how grouping/organisational policy was implemented in classrooms and how this affected teaching and learning strategies, the impact of grouping on social pedagogy and learning, and planning for transition. The extended literature review (Kutnick, Sebba, Blatchford, Galt...

First, we should like to acknowledge the funders: the Legatum Foundation via Geneva Global Philan... more First, we should like to acknowledge the funders: the Legatum Foundation via Geneva Global Philanthropy for sponsoring the research. We are also appreciative of the support of Geneva Global Ethiopia for facilitating the study in SSNPR, especially during the initial scoping visit. In particular, special mention is due to Abel Kassum, in Hawassa, who was prepared to sort out any difficulty at any time throughout the research and who also provided invaluable background information to the project and to the region, and all manner of support.

Gender, Sexuality and Development

Gender, Sexuality and Development

Journal of Education Policy

Teaching and Teacher Education

This article foregrounds the experiences of female trainees on a scholarship programme for initia... more This article foregrounds the experiences of female trainees on a scholarship programme for initial teacher education aimed at increasing the number of qualified female teachers from rural northern Nigeria, and boosting female pupil enrolments. Challenging conditions in colleges of education, including curricular shortcomings, overcrowding, limited resources and inadequate learning support were compounded by non-academic factors e especially financial, and gendered constraints. Collectively, they threatened student retention, learning and attainment, and the programme's gender equity goals. Findings highlight the need to move beyond increasing numbers of female student-teachers, to improving quality in teacher education, paying attention to out-of-college conditions too.

Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evalua... more Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria i Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria iii and outcomes to be measured against programme targets and to facilitate impact assessments. Even where qualitative data were gathered they were often then quantified. Furthermore, articles in national journals generally lack an empirical basis or report small-scale surveys on very specific issues. There are very few in-depth qualitative studies. More in-depth qualitative data (including ethnographic, longitudinal and comparative case-study research) are needed to unravel some of the more complex processes affecting children in particular social contexts hinted at in some of the survey data. Research on education in Nigeria would benefit from greater collaboration and synergy between Nigerian university academics working in education and education and development specialists (both Nigerian and international). Greater public availability of government policy documentation on education (e.g. statistics, policy documents, research reports and the Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA) exercise data) would also help improve research. Geographical coverage in the available research (outside national surveys) has been uneven, with some states hardly featuring. With one of two notable exceptions, the voices of women and children and marginalised groups such as nomadic pastoralists, almajirai, 1 street children, and children with disabilities are not often very well heard in the evaluation studies, often because there was a tendency to focus on 'key informants' such as state and Local LGEA officials, traditional leaders and head teachers, who are predominantly men from dominant social groups. Since the drive at the school level has been to get more children-particularly girls-into schools, less research attention has been given to the quality of teaching and learning, in both schools and teacher education colleges. However, increased school enrolments mean very little if no meaningful learning is taking place. There are also concerns about the financial sustainability and political will to sustain many of the education development programmes. 2. ACCESS TO BASIC EDUCATION EMIS data suggest an overall decline in primary enrolments from 2006 to 2010 (the latest available data nationally), except in the North West. In contrast, the data suggest an increase in public Junior Secondary School (JSS) enrolments. That said, the figures are unreliable and much of the private school data in particular are absent. Household survey data from between 2004 and 2010 suggest little change in primary attendance, at around 60% of school-age children nationally, although there is considerable variation across the country. Broadly speaking, attendance is lower in the north than in the south, in rural areas rather than urban, for poorer households than richer, for girls more than boys in northern states, for Muslims more than non-Muslims, and for nomadic and migrant children and children with disabilities. Enrolment data from Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN)-supported states show huge variation between states and within states between LGEAs. In-school factors contributing to non-enrolment, absenteeism and/or dropout from schools are related to quality and generally revolve around: poor infrastructure and facilities; lack of space or overcrowding; teacher absenteeism; pupil avoidance of harassment, bullying or corporal punishment; an inability to understand the medium of instruction (MOI); and the poor quality of teaching and learning taking place. The quantitative data are generally of poor quality, but are particularly sparse in the case of unregistered private schools, Islamic schools and nomadic education. There is not a good understanding of what the most important barriers to access are ('out-of-school' and 'in-school' factors) in specific contexts and the way they interrelate. 3. EDUCATIONAL QUALITY: THE SCHOOL CONTEXT School supply Many states have recently been investing in building new schools. However, according to EMIS data, there are no clear patterns on school supply nationally from 2006 to 2010, although in part this is because of the lack and/or unreliability of data on the number of schools. Data for the private sector, in particular, are missing for many states. However, the 2010 NEDS reported long distances for many children in more rural and northern areas, especially at secondary level, thus suggesting school supply issues. School infrastructure and facilities Many states have invested heavily in the development of educational infrastructure over the last few years, although progress has been uneven. Many schools are still dilapidated, in part because government funding is unevenly distributed among states, LGEAs and schools-some schools receive no government support-and it is widely claimed that a lack of transparency in the awarding of construction contracts can lead to substandard buildings. The provision of water and gender-segregated sanitation is clearly vital to keeping pupils (and staff) in schools, and reports suggest recent improvements in provision in project-supported states, but there are clearly issues around the maintenance and cleanliness of both. These need to be investigated more thoroughly, including the impact of shared community use, fee charges for water, safety for girls around toilet areas, and hygiene and equity issues surrounding the cleaning of toilets. The reasons why children are not using toilets in some cases also need to be explored. Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria v School security is a matter of major concern to parents, pupils and education personnel, particularly the need for a perimeter fence to better regulate teacher and pupil attendance, intrusion from outsiders (including attacks on pupils, vandalism and theft of school property), the presence of motor vehicles, community dumping and encroachment. Classroom conditions and resources Classroom conditions vary across states, LGEAs and schools but many schools lack classrooms or the classrooms they do have are dilapidated and overcrowded with inadequate furniture and no usable chalkboard, making it virtually impossible for meaningful teaching and learning to occur. A major concern is the evidence suggesting that improvements in infrastructure and resource supply are failing to keep pace with increased demand, having a negative impact on educational quality and thereby threatening retention and undermining any gains in increased enrolment. There are severe shortages of textbooks, although there have been recent improvements in supply associated with development projects funded by a combination of government, donor agencies and community-generated funds, e.g. through school-based management committees (SBMCs). However, books are often locked up and unused because they are considered too precious for pupils to use, teachers are not sure how to use them, or LGEAs lack funds for distribution. 4. EDUCATIONAL QUALITY: TEACHING AND LEARNING Curriculum Following widespread criticism of the curriculum for being overloaded and outdated, with an overemphasis on transmission of knowledge rather than acquisition of transferable skills, new curricula are currently being rolled out at primary and JSS level. Many schools lack the relevant curriculum documents (including syllabuses and teaching guides) and there is generally a shortage of Science and Technology teachers and adequate Science facilities in school, combined with low ICT penetration. The medium of instruction National policy is that the 'mother tongue' will be used for Primary 1-3, before a 'progressive' transition to English-medium teaching. In practice, teaching at primary and JSS level generally involves a lot of code-switching between Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba and other community languages. Looking at gendered processes There is a need to move beyond the gender parity approach (i.e. primarily considering numbers of girls versus numbers of boys) and a focus on enrolment and attendance toward a focus on inequalities in processes and the way they relate to outcomes. There is also a need for a more holistic gender analysis of schools, with gender conceptualised as relational-i.e. boys and girls, considering similarities and differences between and within gender categories-and looking at the gendered structures and processes of educational institutions, as well as at numbers of female and male pupils and teachers. The FTTSS has supported over 2,300 trainees but research is needed on their levels of commitment/attrition over two years, their impact in schools/communities and on the kind of support they need to be successful. While the literature considers the constraints of cultural practices of Islam on girls' schooling, there is nothing on the impact of Christianity or African traditional religion (ATR) on girls' participation, or on the way in which ethnicity interacts with gender and religion (with the exception of two studies on female Fulbe nomadic pastoralists). 9. OUT-OF-SCHOOL ISSUES AFFECTING ACCESS ('pull factors') Provision of schools Despite an impressive drive to increase the number of primary schools and JSSs across the country in recent years, government welcomes the participation of private education to help it achieve UBE, including for-profit private and faith schools such as IQTE schools where there are some secular subjects on the curriculum, provided that they meet government standards Poverty, the cost of schooling and the need for children to work Direct costs such as Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) levies and the cost of uniforms, writing materials and textbooks constitute a major barrier to equitable access: inability to pay costs is a...

It is designed to generate new evidence and understanding of how best to support equitable access... more It is designed to generate new evidence and understanding of how best to support equitable access and improved learning outcomes for all Nigerian children through innovation and the sustainable development of basic education systems. It is a consortium of leading organisations in international development and education managed by Oxford Policy Management (OPM) and including the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).

World Development Perspectives

The Consortium for Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE) is a Research Programme Co... more The Consortium for Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE) is a Research Programme Consortium supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). Its purpose is to undertake research designed to improve access to basic education in developing countries. It seeks to achieve this through generating new knowledge and encouraging its application through effective communication and dissemination to national and international development agencies, national governments, education and development professionals, non-government organisations and other interested stakeholders. Access to basic education lies at the heart of development. Lack of educational access, and securely acquired knowledge and skill, is both a part of the definition of poverty, and a means for its diminution. Sustained access to meaningful learning that has value is critical to long term improvements in productivity, the reduction of inter-generational cycles of poverty, demographic transition...

Disclaimer EDOREN is a consortium of leading organisations in international development and educa... more Disclaimer EDOREN is a consortium of leading organisations in international development and education: Oxford Policy Management (OPM), the Centre for International Education (CIE) and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), both at the University of Sussex, and is supported by UK Aid. EDOREN cannot be held responsible for errors or any consequences arising from the use of information contained in this report. Any views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of OPM, CIE, IDS and EDOREN or any other contributing organisation.

The research informing this Working Paper as well as its publication was made possible thanks to ... more The research informing this Working Paper as well as its publication was made possible thanks to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)-funded research on Action on Children's Harmful Work in African Agriculture (ACHA). The aim of the programme is to build evidence on: • the forms, drivers, and experiences of children's harmful work in African agriculture; and • interventions that are effective in preventing harm that arises in the course of children's work. It is currently assumed that the majority of children's work in Africa is within the agricultural sector. However, the evidence base is very poor in regard to: the prevalence of children's harmful work in African agriculture; the distribution of children's harmful work across different agricultural value chains, farming systems and agro-ecologies; the effects of different types of value chains and models of value chain coordination on the prevalence of harmful children's work; and the efficacy of different interventions to address harmful children's work.

Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evalua... more Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria i Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria iii and outcomes to be measured against programme targets and to facilitate impact assessments. Even where qualitative data were gathered they were often then quantified. Furthermore, articles in national journals generally lack an empirical basis or report small-scale surveys on very specific issues. There are very few in-depth qualitative studies. More in-depth qualitative data (including ethnographic, longitudinal and comparative case-study research) are needed to unravel some of the more complex processes affecting children in particular social contexts hinted at in some of the survey data. Research on education in Nigeria would benefit from greater collaboration and synergy between Nigerian university academics working in education and education and development specialists (both Nigerian and international). Greater public availability of government policy documentation on education (e.g. statistics, policy documents, research reports and the Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA) exercise data) would also help improve research. Geographical coverage in the available research (outside national surveys) has been uneven, with some states hardly featuring. With one of two notable exceptions, the voices of women and children and marginalised groups such as nomadic pastoralists, almajirai, 1 street children, and children with disabilities are not often very well heard in the evaluation studies, often because there was a tendency to focus on 'key informants' such as state and Local LGEA officials, traditional leaders and head teachers, who are predominantly men from dominant social groups. Since the drive at the school level has been to get more children-particularly girls-into schools, less research attention has been given to the quality of teaching and learning, in both schools and teacher education colleges. However, increased school enrolments mean very little if no meaningful learning is taking place. There are also concerns about the financial sustainability and political will to sustain many of the education development programmes. 2. ACCESS TO BASIC EDUCATION EMIS data suggest an overall decline in primary enrolments from 2006 to 2010 (the latest available data nationally), except in the North West. In contrast, the data suggest an increase in public Junior Secondary School (JSS) enrolments. That said, the figures are unreliable and much of the private school data in particular are absent. Household survey data from between 2004 and 2010 suggest little change in primary attendance, at around 60% of school-age children nationally, although there is considerable variation across the country. Broadly speaking, attendance is lower in the north than in the south, in rural areas rather than urban, for poorer households than richer, for girls more than boys in northern states, for Muslims more than non-Muslims, and for nomadic and migrant children and children with disabilities. Enrolment data from Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN)-supported states show huge variation between states and within states between LGEAs. In-school factors contributing to non-enrolment, absenteeism and/or dropout from schools are related to quality and generally revolve around: poor infrastructure and facilities; lack of space or overcrowding; teacher absenteeism; pupil avoidance of harassment, bullying or corporal punishment; an inability to understand the medium of instruction (MOI); and the poor quality of teaching and learning taking place. The quantitative data are generally of poor quality, but are particularly sparse in the case of unregistered private schools, Islamic schools and nomadic education. There is not a good understanding of what the most important barriers to access are ('out-of-school' and 'in-school' factors) in specific contexts and the way they interrelate. 3. EDUCATIONAL QUALITY: THE SCHOOL CONTEXT School supply Many states have recently been investing in building new schools. However, according to EMIS data, there are no clear patterns on school supply nationally from 2006 to 2010, although in part this is because of the lack and/or unreliability of data on the number of schools. Data for the private sector, in particular, are missing for many states. However, the 2010 NEDS reported long distances for many children in more rural and northern areas, especially at secondary level, thus suggesting school supply issues. School infrastructure and facilities Many states have invested heavily in the development of educational infrastructure over the last few years, although progress has been uneven. Many schools are still dilapidated, in part because government funding is unevenly distributed among states, LGEAs and schools-some schools receive no government support-and it is widely claimed that a lack of transparency in the awarding of construction contracts can lead to substandard buildings. The provision of water and gender-segregated sanitation is clearly vital to keeping pupils (and staff) in schools, and reports suggest recent improvements in provision in project-supported states, but there are clearly issues around the maintenance and cleanliness of both. These need to be investigated more thoroughly, including the impact of shared community use, fee charges for water, safety for girls around toilet areas, and hygiene and equity issues surrounding the cleaning of toilets. The reasons why children are not using toilets in some cases also need to be explored. Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria v School security is a matter of major concern to parents, pupils and education personnel, particularly the need for a perimeter fence to better regulate teacher and pupil attendance, intrusion from outsiders (including attacks on pupils, vandalism and theft of school property), the presence of motor vehicles, community dumping and encroachment. Classroom conditions and resources Classroom conditions vary across states, LGEAs and schools but many schools lack classrooms or the classrooms they do have are dilapidated and overcrowded with inadequate furniture and no usable chalkboard, making it virtually impossible for meaningful teaching and learning to occur. A major concern is the evidence suggesting that improvements in infrastructure and resource supply are failing to keep pace with increased demand, having a negative impact on educational quality and thereby threatening retention and undermining any gains in increased enrolment. There are severe shortages of textbooks, although there have been recent improvements in supply associated with development projects funded by a combination of government, donor agencies and community-generated funds, e.g. through school-based management committees (SBMCs). However, books are often locked up and unused because they are considered too precious for pupils to use, teachers are not sure how to use them, or LGEAs lack funds for distribution. 4. EDUCATIONAL QUALITY: TEACHING AND LEARNING Curriculum Following widespread criticism of the curriculum for being overloaded and outdated, with an overemphasis on transmission of knowledge rather than acquisition of transferable skills, new curricula are currently being rolled out at primary and JSS level. Many schools lack the relevant curriculum documents (including syllabuses and teaching guides) and there is generally a shortage of Science and Technology teachers and adequate Science facilities in school, combined with low ICT penetration. The medium of instruction National policy is that the 'mother tongue' will be used for Primary 1-3, before a 'progressive' transition to English-medium teaching. In practice, teaching at primary and JSS level generally involves a lot of code-switching between Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba and other community languages. Looking at gendered processes There is a need to move beyond the gender parity approach (i.e. primarily considering numbers of girls versus numbers of boys) and a focus on enrolment and attendance toward a focus on inequalities in processes and the way they relate to outcomes. There is also a need for a more holistic gender analysis of schools, with gender conceptualised as relational-i.e. boys and girls, considering similarities and differences between and within gender categories-and looking at the gendered structures and processes of educational institutions, as well as at numbers of female and male pupils and teachers. The FTTSS has supported over 2,300 trainees but research is needed on their levels of commitment/attrition over two years, their impact in schools/communities and on the kind of support they need to be successful. While the literature considers the constraints of cultural practices of Islam on girls' schooling, there is nothing on the impact of Christianity or African traditional religion (ATR) on girls' participation, or on the way in which ethnicity interacts with gender and religion (with the exception of two studies on female Fulbe nomadic pastoralists). 9. OUT-OF-SCHOOL ISSUES AFFECTING ACCESS ('pull factors') Provision of schools Despite an impressive drive to increase the number of primary schools and JSSs across the country in recent years, government welcomes the participation of private education to help it achieve UBE, including for-profit private and faith schools such as IQTE schools where there are some secular subjects on the curriculum, provided that they meet government standards Poverty, the cost of schooling and the need for children to work Direct costs such as Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) levies and the cost of uniforms, writing materials and textbooks constitute a major barrier to equitable access: inability to pay costs is a...

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned the University of Brighton (with part... more The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned the University of Brighton (with partner universities Sussex, Cambridge and the Institute of Education, London) to undertake a two-part investigation into the effects of pupil grouping in schools at Key Stages (KS) 2 and 3. The two-part investigation provided: (1) an extended review of the literature that included an analysis and synthesis of current literature that would identify types of pupil grouping suited to particular pupils, the range of organisational policies regarding pupil grouping within schools that are related to different levels of performance, and subjects suited to particular types of grouping; and (2) comparative case studies that explored how grouping/organisational policy was implemented in classrooms and how this affected teaching and learning strategies, the impact of grouping on social pedagogy and learning, and planning for transition. The extended literature review (Kutnick, Sebba, Blatchford, Galt...

First, we should like to acknowledge the funders: the Legatum Foundation via Geneva Global Philan... more First, we should like to acknowledge the funders: the Legatum Foundation via Geneva Global Philanthropy for sponsoring the research. We are also appreciative of the support of Geneva Global Ethiopia for facilitating the study in SSNPR, especially during the initial scoping visit. In particular, special mention is due to Abel Kassum, in Hawassa, who was prepared to sort out any difficulty at any time throughout the research and who also provided invaluable background information to the project and to the region, and all manner of support.

Gender, Sexuality and Development

Gender, Sexuality and Development

Journal of Education Policy

Teaching and Teacher Education

This article foregrounds the experiences of female trainees on a scholarship programme for initia... more This article foregrounds the experiences of female trainees on a scholarship programme for initial teacher education aimed at increasing the number of qualified female teachers from rural northern Nigeria, and boosting female pupil enrolments. Challenging conditions in colleges of education, including curricular shortcomings, overcrowding, limited resources and inadequate learning support were compounded by non-academic factors e especially financial, and gendered constraints. Collectively, they threatened student retention, learning and attainment, and the programme's gender equity goals. Findings highlight the need to move beyond increasing numbers of female student-teachers, to improving quality in teacher education, paying attention to out-of-college conditions too.

Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evalua... more Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria i Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria iii and outcomes to be measured against programme targets and to facilitate impact assessments. Even where qualitative data were gathered they were often then quantified. Furthermore, articles in national journals generally lack an empirical basis or report small-scale surveys on very specific issues. There are very few in-depth qualitative studies. More in-depth qualitative data (including ethnographic, longitudinal and comparative case-study research) are needed to unravel some of the more complex processes affecting children in particular social contexts hinted at in some of the survey data. Research on education in Nigeria would benefit from greater collaboration and synergy between Nigerian university academics working in education and education and development specialists (both Nigerian and international). Greater public availability of government policy documentation on education (e.g. statistics, policy documents, research reports and the Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA) exercise data) would also help improve research. Geographical coverage in the available research (outside national surveys) has been uneven, with some states hardly featuring. With one of two notable exceptions, the voices of women and children and marginalised groups such as nomadic pastoralists, almajirai, 1 street children, and children with disabilities are not often very well heard in the evaluation studies, often because there was a tendency to focus on 'key informants' such as state and Local LGEA officials, traditional leaders and head teachers, who are predominantly men from dominant social groups. Since the drive at the school level has been to get more children-particularly girls-into schools, less research attention has been given to the quality of teaching and learning, in both schools and teacher education colleges. However, increased school enrolments mean very little if no meaningful learning is taking place. There are also concerns about the financial sustainability and political will to sustain many of the education development programmes. 2. ACCESS TO BASIC EDUCATION EMIS data suggest an overall decline in primary enrolments from 2006 to 2010 (the latest available data nationally), except in the North West. In contrast, the data suggest an increase in public Junior Secondary School (JSS) enrolments. That said, the figures are unreliable and much of the private school data in particular are absent. Household survey data from between 2004 and 2010 suggest little change in primary attendance, at around 60% of school-age children nationally, although there is considerable variation across the country. Broadly speaking, attendance is lower in the north than in the south, in rural areas rather than urban, for poorer households than richer, for girls more than boys in northern states, for Muslims more than non-Muslims, and for nomadic and migrant children and children with disabilities. Enrolment data from Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN)-supported states show huge variation between states and within states between LGEAs. In-school factors contributing to non-enrolment, absenteeism and/or dropout from schools are related to quality and generally revolve around: poor infrastructure and facilities; lack of space or overcrowding; teacher absenteeism; pupil avoidance of harassment, bullying or corporal punishment; an inability to understand the medium of instruction (MOI); and the poor quality of teaching and learning taking place. The quantitative data are generally of poor quality, but are particularly sparse in the case of unregistered private schools, Islamic schools and nomadic education. There is not a good understanding of what the most important barriers to access are ('out-of-school' and 'in-school' factors) in specific contexts and the way they interrelate. 3. EDUCATIONAL QUALITY: THE SCHOOL CONTEXT School supply Many states have recently been investing in building new schools. However, according to EMIS data, there are no clear patterns on school supply nationally from 2006 to 2010, although in part this is because of the lack and/or unreliability of data on the number of schools. Data for the private sector, in particular, are missing for many states. However, the 2010 NEDS reported long distances for many children in more rural and northern areas, especially at secondary level, thus suggesting school supply issues. School infrastructure and facilities Many states have invested heavily in the development of educational infrastructure over the last few years, although progress has been uneven. Many schools are still dilapidated, in part because government funding is unevenly distributed among states, LGEAs and schools-some schools receive no government support-and it is widely claimed that a lack of transparency in the awarding of construction contracts can lead to substandard buildings. The provision of water and gender-segregated sanitation is clearly vital to keeping pupils (and staff) in schools, and reports suggest recent improvements in provision in project-supported states, but there are clearly issues around the maintenance and cleanliness of both. These need to be investigated more thoroughly, including the impact of shared community use, fee charges for water, safety for girls around toilet areas, and hygiene and equity issues surrounding the cleaning of toilets. The reasons why children are not using toilets in some cases also need to be explored. Review of the literature on basic education in Nigeria EDOREN-Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria v School security is a matter of major concern to parents, pupils and education personnel, particularly the need for a perimeter fence to better regulate teacher and pupil attendance, intrusion from outsiders (including attacks on pupils, vandalism and theft of school property), the presence of motor vehicles, community dumping and encroachment. Classroom conditions and resources Classroom conditions vary across states, LGEAs and schools but many schools lack classrooms or the classrooms they do have are dilapidated and overcrowded with inadequate furniture and no usable chalkboard, making it virtually impossible for meaningful teaching and learning to occur. A major concern is the evidence suggesting that improvements in infrastructure and resource supply are failing to keep pace with increased demand, having a negative impact on educational quality and thereby threatening retention and undermining any gains in increased enrolment. There are severe shortages of textbooks, although there have been recent improvements in supply associated with development projects funded by a combination of government, donor agencies and community-generated funds, e.g. through school-based management committees (SBMCs). However, books are often locked up and unused because they are considered too precious for pupils to use, teachers are not sure how to use them, or LGEAs lack funds for distribution. 4. EDUCATIONAL QUALITY: TEACHING AND LEARNING Curriculum Following widespread criticism of the curriculum for being overloaded and outdated, with an overemphasis on transmission of knowledge rather than acquisition of transferable skills, new curricula are currently being rolled out at primary and JSS level. Many schools lack the relevant curriculum documents (including syllabuses and teaching guides) and there is generally a shortage of Science and Technology teachers and adequate Science facilities in school, combined with low ICT penetration. The medium of instruction National policy is that the 'mother tongue' will be used for Primary 1-3, before a 'progressive' transition to English-medium teaching. In practice, teaching at primary and JSS level generally involves a lot of code-switching between Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba and other community languages. Looking at gendered processes There is a need to move beyond the gender parity approach (i.e. primarily considering numbers of girls versus numbers of boys) and a focus on enrolment and attendance toward a focus on inequalities in processes and the way they relate to outcomes. There is also a need for a more holistic gender analysis of schools, with gender conceptualised as relational-i.e. boys and girls, considering similarities and differences between and within gender categories-and looking at the gendered structures and processes of educational institutions, as well as at numbers of female and male pupils and teachers. The FTTSS has supported over 2,300 trainees but research is needed on their levels of commitment/attrition over two years, their impact in schools/communities and on the kind of support they need to be successful. While the literature considers the constraints of cultural practices of Islam on girls' schooling, there is nothing on the impact of Christianity or African traditional religion (ATR) on girls' participation, or on the way in which ethnicity interacts with gender and religion (with the exception of two studies on female Fulbe nomadic pastoralists). 9. OUT-OF-SCHOOL ISSUES AFFECTING ACCESS ('pull factors') Provision of schools Despite an impressive drive to increase the number of primary schools and JSSs across the country in recent years, government welcomes the participation of private education to help it achieve UBE, including for-profit private and faith schools such as IQTE schools where there are some secular subjects on the curriculum, provided that they meet government standards Poverty, the cost of schooling and the need for children to work Direct costs such as Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) levies and the cost of uniforms, writing materials and textbooks constitute a major barrier to equitable access: inability to pay costs is a...